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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rash — a series
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rash — hasty
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bore — to drill
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. face — part of the head
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com